The Synod Leadership Team: Twelve will coordinate plan

The 12 members of the Synod Leadership Team will evaluate input gathered at consultative sessions throughout the Archdiocese of New Orleans as well as information provided by seven Foundational Ministry Focus teams. The Synod Leadership Team will recommend to Archbishop Gregory Aymond several priorities for ministry over the next three to five years.  

Kurt Bindewald
Loyola University New Orleans
Who is he? Director of University Ministry and associate director of Mission and Ministry at Loyola University. He has worked in youth ministry for many years and is a member of the archdiocesan LGBT Ministry team.
His reaction: “My initial reaction was wondering why the archbishop would be so desperate that he would need to ask me! But as I started thinking about it, his own love and appreciation for young people has been apparent to everyone. My roles in campus ministry and working in youth ministry may be a great way of getting that view involved. I appreciate him asking me. I’m planning on asking the young people I come in contact with for input as well. I like the whole process. The timing with all the things Pope Francis is doing is very exciting. The pope is listening to people and hearing the voices of others. In many ways I see this as very similar to the way Archbishop Aymond is leading.”

Father Colin Braud
St. Margaret Mary, Slidell
Who is he? Ordained in 2013, Father Braud is parochial vicar at St. Margaret Mary Parish. He brings a background in engineering, youthful enthusiasm for ministry and an ability to “think outside the box.”
His reaction: “Why me? That was my first impression – are they crazy? Hopefully, we can come together on a vision for what we hope the future will be like. We’ll get all the information and come up with some goals to accomplish it. We’re kind of starting with a blank slate, getting all the information and, hopefully, we can see where the Spirit is moving and identify where the Spirit is leading us.”

Maria E. Castillo
St. Martha, Harvey
Who is she? Castillo has given years of dedicated service to the Hispanic community in the archdiocese.
Her reaction: “My knees went (shaking) like this. I just felt so honored to be asked. I couldn’t say yes right away until I started praying, because I just couldn’t believe it. You do volunteer work and all that, but you never expect to receive something like this. I told Sister (Beth Fitzpatrick) I would pray about it, and after I prayed about it, I called my husband, who wasn’t in town. He said, ‘Go ahead and do it.’ Then I went to my spiritual director! I needed all the help. And he said, ‘Go ahead, you can do it.’ So I’m just trusting in the Lord that I can do whatever they need me to do, especially for the Hispanic community.”

Claire Gallagher
St. Clement of Rome, Metairie
Who is she? Coordinator of religious education and youth ministry at St. Clement of Rome Parish.
Her reaction: “I was very humbled. I was reading the archbishop’s letter and I was like, ‘Are you sure this is for me?’ It was very exciting. It was definitely a surprise, but a good surprise. I’m just honored to have this opportunity to be on the leadership team and serve in whatever way I’m called. I’m not really sure what that is yet, but it’s definitely very humbling. Being that I work mostly with young people in all my ministries, I’m hoping that I can be a voice for the young church and their needs and set some goals for youth ministry and religious education for young people.”

Msgr. L. Earl Gauthreaux
St. Maria Goretti, New Orleans
Who is he? Pastor of St. Maria Goretti since 1968. He was the coordinator of the 8th General Synod of the archdiocese, which took seven years to complete (it was promulgated in 1987). He brings his long experience as a pastor, canon lawyer and synod coordinator.
His reaction: “I was happy that the archbishop thought I would be helpful since I have experienced and lived under two synods (the 7th General Synod was promulgated in 1949, when Msgr. Gauthreaux was a seminarian). I was in charge of the 8th Synod, and Archbishop Aymond thought that experience might be helpful. I just hope we can live up to the expectation of completing it in 14 months.”

Marianite Sister Judy Gomila
Marianites of Holy Cross
Who is she? Director of associates and public relations for the Marianites of Holy Cross. She has expertise in mission and social justice.
Her reaction: “Prior to the initial invitation, I was enthused to read in the Clarion Herald that Archbishop Aymond was calling for a synod. Then one day, when I was opening up my mail – an actual letter from the Post Office and not an e-mail – I saw the invitation from the archbishop. The contents revealed a beautiful, multi-paragraphed invitation to be a part of the Synod Leadership Team along with goals, expectations and a specific time line. I was quite honored ‘to be among the 12’ – after all, that was good enough for Jesus, too! – to serve my archdiocese. I still had some anxiety as to how it would all come together. I had had previous leadership experience with the very first synod held in the Diocese of Juneau, Alaska, but that was a much smaller but more geographically expansive diocese. That turned out to be a very life-giving and hope-filled event in the life of that local church. I’m grateful to Archbishop Aymond. I believe the synod is an expression of ‘active hope’ in the life of our archdiocese. It will afford every Catholic the opportunity to take responsibility for who we are as a local church and for listening to where God is moving us forward together in faith. The synod is a creative method for implementing the ‘new evangelization,’ and that is very positive. Certainly, I expect that the recent emphasis of Pope Francis’ call to the universal church will figure in the deliberations of our people making us more aware of the needs of the marginal – physically, spiritually and emotionally. Working with the team will call for openness to whatever comes before us and the willingness to enter into a discernment process that is of the Spirit. Bottom line, as I see it, the people of God of our archdiocese are ALL being invited to have their say (though it will be impossible for all to have their way). I hope that at the close of the synod we will affirm with enthusiasm across parish/ethnic/class distinctions: ‘We are each a part of the body of Christ and part of one another” (1 Cor 12:27).

Deacon Timothy Hedrick
Fourth Year, Theology
Notre Dame Seminary
Who is he? Deacon Hedrick is a transitional deacon who will be ordained to the priesthood on June 7. He has the ability to see the “big picture” as well as the details, and he brings energy and new ideas.
His reaction: “The first time I heard about the Synod Leadership Team was when Father Steve Bruno asked me if he could submit my name. Because I was a young child the last time there was a local synod, I didn’t know what the process entailed. When I learned more about the process, I was excited and humbled by the opportunity to participate in this historic moment in the archdiocese. My hope is that people from across the archdiocese, those actively involved in their parish and those who might feel isolated from the church, will participate in the process in order that we might truly discern God’s will and God’s vision for our archdiocese. I don’t have any specific expectations as to what the synod will discern, but I think that will become clear as we meet, listen and pray over the coming year.”

Shirley Judge
St. Gabriel the Archangel, New Orleans
Who is she? A longtime St. Gabriel parishioner, educator and former director of Student Affairs at Delgado Community College.
Her reaction: “I felt honored, absolutely honored, and a little bit overwhelmed to have been asked, but I think it’s a privilege to serve. I hope that by gathering with other people and getting ideas that the Holy Spirit will guide us and help us to enhance the growth and life of the members of this archdiocese. I hope we can find out where the people would like to see the archdiocese go – what the youth want, what the young adults want, what the elderly want.”

Deacon Larry Oney
St. Louis Cathedral; Our Lady of Grace, Reserve
Who is he? Deacon Oney is a permanent deacon who is noted for his leadership skills, evangelizing gifts and business acumen. He is the chairman of the board of Hammerman & Gainer, Inc. (HGI), an active member of the New Orleans Chapter of Legatus and chairman of the Board of Regents for Our Lady of Holy Cross College.
His reaction: “My first impression when I received word that the archbishop was inviting me to serve was that I was honored, and then I immediately asked my assistant to clear as many dates as possible so that I could be present at these historic Synod Leadership Team gatherings. I’m hopeful that with the help of the Holy Spirit, the gatherings will be meaningful, thoughtful and give rise to insightful planning that will be born out of real time, relevant information, which I understand has already been gathered, that will be helpful in planning for the spiritual and practical needs of the people of God in the archdiocese.

Lynne Pesce
St. Clement of Rome, Metairie
Who is she? Helped bring Christ in the City to the archdiocese. Mother of three.
Her reaction? “That I’m very unqualified – and I need to strengthen my prayer life. I really hope not to come in with any preconceived notions. I’d like to be open to the Holy Spirit. I enjoyed the article about the synod in the (April 12) Clarion Herald. That helped me a lot to see where things are going to go. I hope to adopt Archbishop Aymond’s mindset of openness.”

Dr. Dereck Rovaris
St. Peter Claver, New Orleans
Who is he? Associate vice chancellor for Academic and Multicultural Affairs at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and active St. Peter Claver parishioner.
His reaction: “You can’t say no to the archbishop, and you certainly can’t say no to Archbishop Aymond. He’s a wonderful leader and a great shepherd. This is a tremendous opportunity for us as an archdiocese to take an examination of where God is leading us. I think we’ve been very dutiful and very faithful in the past. This is a great opportunity to move forward in the same direction.”

Father John-Nhan Tran
St. Joan of Arc Parish, LaPlace
Who is he? Father Tran is pastor of St. Joan of Arc in LaPlace and dean of the St. John-St. Charles Deanery. He is described as a very “present pastor” who pours himself out for his parishioners.
His reaction: “The only thing I can say is wherever the Lord leads us. I hope that through the various listening sessions that the archbishop will be doing, we will be able to know as an archdiocese what God’s will is for us. That’s our hope. I see my role on the committee as doing whatever I can to help implement that part of it. There’s a lot of wise people on that committee, so if I’m on it, there will be one less.”